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Rivian has filed a patent to increase the energy capacity of its next R1T electric pick-up truck with a new auxiliary battery that can be added to the truck body after manufacture.
The patent was filed last year, released last month and is now marked "pending" by the US Patent Office.
The Rivian R1T also has the largest battery of a consumer vehicle to date, largely because it is a large heavy vehicle with relatively poor aerodynamics (compared to compact / electric sedans). Rivian also markets the R1T for the "adventure truck" market, which will tend towards heavier use cases. Some of the more remote adventure destinations may not have charging points nearby (although 50A RV connections offer good nighttime load capacity), and towing large equipment will also reduced autonomy.
To address these concerns, Rivian has already mentioned the installation of fast charging points in common "adventure destinations", where there might not be so many EV charging installations.
But we are now learning the details of another method that Rivian plans to use to expand the R1T's energy capacity.
At the front of the R1T platform, multiple connections, including integrated cooling circuits, temporarily lock an "auxiliary battery", which would temporarily increase the truck's energy capacity. The battery would fit into the R1T type as a standard truck body toolbox, according to the diagrams attached to the patent application.
An interesting note is that the batteries do not go into the "speed tunnel" of the R1T, the lockable storage area behind the pbadenger cabin and in front of the truck crate. This seems like a natural place to put them, but maybe the installation is simply easier in the crate. The patent describes the method of installation either by forklift or by descent from above via a winch and cables. Then he is bolted to the sides of the bed.
There is no information yet on the size or cost. But this is an extra capacity that goes beyond the standard capacity options of 105/135/180 kWh. Given the size of the battery, it could be 50 to 80 kWh more with the most recent cells in terms of energy density, which would result in a huge amount of energy storage and many opportunities for adventure in the hinterland.
Rivian also plans to produce the R1S electric SUV, although this patent only concerns the auxiliary batteries of the R1T electric pickup.
You can read the full patent at the bottom of this article.
Electrek's Take
We are very excited about Rivian here at Electrek, and that seems like another good idea – with some caveats.
Personally, there was a way for me to have a battery of 80 to 100 miles for daily use in my car and then to "gear up" with an extra one or two hundred miles from them. days or weeks when I think I need it, I'm to be happy to have that. So, in theory, that seems to be the kind of thing I would like.
We do not yet know what Rivian 's business plan is and it will be a punctual addition to a more permanent capacity after purchase, or if Rivian is considering a deal. allow temporary "rentals" of extra capacity for owners planning a great adventure. Rivian's general manager, RJ Scaringe, has already mentioned the term "digital jerrycan", which gives the impression of considering temporary rentals.
We have already tried something in the field of temporary batteries, including Tesla and Better Place. If you have not heard of this last solution, it is an Israeli start-up who has planned to have a fleet of electric cars with exchangeable batteries, so that the owners can go to a station. Exchanging batteries, getting a new battery and driving away. Their projects never really worked and the company ceased operations in 2013.
Tesla also tried a battery exchange idea, but it would have been better than Better Place's, as it offered users to "rent" a battery with more capacity for road trips, then recover their original lower capacity battery use. The company launched a pilot program with an interchange station on Highway 5 in California, but found that it could not convince any owner. The owners preferred to use Superchargers to go out and stretch their legs for lunch. So, Tesla killed the pilot and no longer publicly pursues any battery exchange project.
Thus, the idea of "auxiliary batteries" in an electric vehicle has already been tried and has not been as effective. But could Rivian do better?
It seems that their platform is better suited to this idea than Better Place or Tesla. Rivian's plan is for "auxiliary capacity," so owners always keep their own battery under the truck. This is something that prevented Tesla owners from using their trading system because they did not want to believe that they would have somebody else's battery (maybe more degraded) after have used the system.
The case of using Tesla and Better Place was also more limited because one or the other of these cars probably stayed on the roads, where it was easy to install chargers , and whose energy demand was relatively constant, since they were not used. towing. The energy requirements of the R1T can vary considerably depending on its use, as towing and off-roading are highly energy-intensive activities that may occur in more remote locations where it is not possible to recharge.
The case of use is therefore the same for Rivian than for Tesla or Better Place. This seems a better fit.
There are some disadvantages: you will lose some of the already reduced sleeping space of the R1T, which can slightly reduce the towing capacity due to the extra weight on the rear wheels of the vehicle. But since the vehicle already has a towing capacity of 11,000 lbs / 5,000 kg, it should still be enough to tow a small boat, ATV or even a car trailer.
Another is that the installation seems difficult. This really prevented Better Place and Tesla from continuing on this path, as the load was so much easier to install and its facilities less intrusive. This allowed Tesla to charge less for overcharging than battery exchange, and customers were happy to choose the least expensive option if they stopped for lunch anyway.
Rivian will have to find a way to move several hundred kilos of batteries to the back of the truck in a convenient way for the owners, and the lowest possible price. The method suggested in the patent means that they would be installed in a dedicated facility, which means that Rivian would need to conserve the batteries in these facilities, and perhaps anticipate demand in major adventure destinations ( Battery storage in Reno before Burning Man, maybe?) This could be costly in terms of logistics and, depending on the cost to the end user, economic considerations could make this a little less appealing than doing business. wait for a charge or bring a generator and a jerrycan filled with gasoline (yuck) with you.
If they manage to solve the problem in a practical and economical way for homeowners, and better than charging or bringing a generator, that would be great. This certainly seems like a good idea, but its realism is still topical.
What do you think about this idea? Take a look at the patent filing and tell us your thoughts in the comments below
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